Over the River and Through the Woods
by zomish
Summary: Carson and Lorne have to work together to get home.  Warning: Carson Whumpage with a healthy dose of Lorne Whump.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or the characters and have no financial gain._

_Summery: Carson and Lorne have to work together to get home. Warning: Carson Whumpage with a healthy dose of Lorne Whump._

_**Over the River and Through the Woods  
**__Part I_

"You ready, doc?" Major Evan Lorne asked with a smile on his face as the Scottish doctor finished tightening the straps on his Tac-Vest.

"Aye, lad," Dr. Beckett replied in a distracted voice as he finished with his vest and started fidgeting with his gun. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"This is gonna be quick and painless, doc." Evan said in a reassuring tone as he patted the doctor on the back. "We go into the village, check for survivors; if we find any we'll send for a medical team; if we don't were home for lunch. I hear they are making mac and cheese, can't wait."

Carson turned and gave the major a flat stare. "Only Americans would make a meal out of a side dish," he grumbled. "Let's not drag this out longer, I said I was ready." Carson motioned to Chuck the gate tech to get on with it.

"Hey, mac and cheese was always my favorite, what's not to like!" The major lifted his pack onto his back before taking his place next to Carson. "If it was cooked in a sheep's stomach would you be okay with it then?"

Carson turned to glare half heartedly at the American. "I'll have you know that haggis is one of the tastiest dishes you will ever have the honor of partaking in."

The major laughed as the gate whooshed and the shimmering wormhole appeared. "I'll pass, doc!"

∞SGA∞

Carson paused as he reached the edge of the small, empty village. These trips through the gate always left him exhausted and numb. He was meant to heal – to cherish life – not be witness to yet another dead civilization.

Walking through the empty streets he could see the remnants of a budding society, one that had just barely began to grow. A society cut down once again by the parasite wraith. The fate of the villagers was unknown, he could only hope, since there were no bodies, that the inhabitants had escaped to a new world.

The glint of red caught Carson's eye. He bent and brushed away some leaves that covered the edge of the path and found a doll's head covered in bright-red hair made of wool. The doll's eyes were permanently open and made of a haunting dark-green stone. Carson lifted the head up and turned it thoughtfully in his head. _Hopefully there is a lil' lass missing her doll somewhere else, and not the doll missing its lass._ Carson jumped as a hand touched his shoulder dropping the toy on the ground.

"Sorry, doc," Evan spoke softly as the doctor spun around. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's time to go. The rest of the team has already started back to the gate. I'm sure you don't want to stay any longer."

Carson sighed and turned back to watch the broken toy roll away. "Ye've got that right, lad. I'm ready to go home."

Carson and Evan walked in silence back through the empty community. They moved swiftly, both eager to put the sad world behind them. As they reached the far edge of the village the rest of Evan's team stood solemnly waiting for them to arrive. As they stepped into the trees that lined the meadow, Carson glance back one more time and tried to picture a little girl with red hair waving goodbye.

"It's a good two hour walk back to the gate, doc," Evan said as they entered the haven of the woods leaving the ghost town behind. "Let me know if you need anything."

There was a well worn path that led from the village to the gate – that, while not a highway, did show traces of recent traffic. The group continued to walk in silence as they picked their way through the woods towards the gate. It took a few minutes for the sound to break into their thoughts.

The sound of approaching engines disturbed the silent woods. Lorne's team took cover under the near by brush and watched the sky. Carson sat close to Evan, keeping behind the Air Force Major. It took only a few seconds for three Wraith Darts to sail over head.

"Damn it," Evan swore. "Where did they come from? Okay, we've got to hightail it to the gate, but stay low and out of sight! Move!"

Evan grabbed Carson's arm and pulled him along behind him. "Stay with me, doc. We've got a long trip to the gate and it just got harder."

The five Atlanteans moved swiftly through the forest, taking shelter repeatedly as the Darts continued to scan the forest. Evan kept one hand on Carson's arm and the other on his gun. The next hour seemed to drag by as they back tracked to the gate.

"Shh," Lorne came to a stop, holding his hand up for everyone to stop and listen. They all came to a halt, straining to hear what had alarmed the major. Then Carson heard it the sound of feet on the ground, crashing through the woods towards them.

"Oh, crap!" Carson whispered. They all knew that his was not an Atlantis rescue party coming to meet them.

The sound of another Dart overhead startled them as shots were fired into the ground between the men. Lorne grabbed Carson's arm again and clicked his radio on. "I've got the doc, you three, try and stay together. Try to go around the wraith on the left; we'll take the right side. We'll meet you back at the gate."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Major?" Carson said as he tried to keep up with Lorne.

"No, it's not a good idea, but now we don't have a choice! Keep your head down, doc," Evan whispered back.

Carson stumbled along with the major, ducking when told and scrambling a head when directed. The two men seemed to be making progress towards the gate, skirting the wraith on foot, when another Wraith Dart soared overhead laying down ground fire. The explosion caught both men off guard, sending them both flying through the air and landing hard on the ground below.

∞SGA∞

Carson slowly awoke to the sound of groaning. He raised his head and fought back the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. Carefully he pealed his eyes open and tried to make sense of the images in front of him. He was lying on the ground in a deep ravine, his face just inches from the water. He tried to identify where the groan was coming from, it took a moment to realize that he was the source of the moan. He tried to lift himself up to his knees.

"AHHH…" Carson stifled a cry of pain as his leg gave out underneath him and he fell back onto his stomach.

"Doc?" Major Lorne's shaky voice came from behind him. "You okay, doc?"

Carson tried to swallow the pain and answer the question. He could he hear Evan grunting loudly as he dragged himself over to where the doctor lay. Evan's hand landed gently on Carson's shoulder.

"Don't move, doc," Evan said in Carson's ear. "I don't know if you can feel that but your leg is angled all wrong. It looks like it is broken."

Carson tried not to whimper but was unsuccessful as he tried to shift so he could see his leg. It was definitely broken; high up on his shin it bent out at an unnatural angle that he knew would be painful to set. _At least their's no blood, didn't break the skin,_ he thought as he tried to think on the positive side.

"How are ye, lad?" he said softly as he tried to turn the conversation away from him and back onto the major.

"I feel like I got dropped out of a jumper," Evan said with slight smile. "Nice try, doc, but you're the one in need of medical attention, not me. Looks like I'm gonna have to play doctor now. What do I need to help you?"

"A time machine?" Carson asked giving the major a pained smile.

"Ha, ha, doc! Really, what do you need?"

"I'm not going to be able to go anywhere until me leg is set and braced, and even then I won't be able to move fast," Carson answered. The idea of dragging himself back to the Stargate caused him to grimace in dreadful anticipation. "Maybe ye should just go on ahead…come back for me. I can hide out somewhere and ye can go back for help."

Evan gave him a flat look. "You know Sheppard's mantra: No one left behind. We're in this together, Carson. I'm not leaving you behind. I can't raise the rest of the team, so we maybe in this by ourselves for now. I haven't heard the Darts over head for a little while, but I'm worried about wraith on foot now, so we need to get moving."

Carson sighed and knew the major was right. "Okay, Doctor Lorne," he lifted his head and gave the major a tight smile. "Ye'll need to find my bag and a couple of long straight sticks first. We'll get to the medical stuff after that."

There was a short argument, which Evan quickly won, over whether to move Carson before or after his leg was immobilized. The major desperately wanted to hide the doctor from any passing, and most likely hostile, eyes. Evan helped the doctor move carefully to the side of the ravine and behind a fallen tree branch.

Evan scouted around, quickly locating the doctor's bag of medical supplies which had gotten caught on a root that stuck out of the side of the ravine. Finding sticks to act as a brace for Carson's leg was a much harder task. Evan spent close to a half hour searching before locating two that would work. He paused repeatedly as he listened to the surrounding noise, breathing as sigh of relief as the forest continued to be silent.

Making his way back to Carson, Evan found the doctor dozing. The frown lines on Carson's face reminded the major how much pain the doctor was actually in. With a gentle shake, Evan woke the doctor. "Okay, I got what you needed. What first?"

"First, let me have my bag," Carson said, reaching out his hand to pick it up. He rifled through the bag before pulling out a packet of pills and a syringe. Fiddling with the needle, Carson finally injected himself in the leg.

"Doc, we need to move faster, please," Evan stated, he did not want to rush the doctor but he knew time was of the essence.

"I am well aware of the time factor here, major," Carson gave him a slight glare before dry swallowing the pain pills. "But unless ye want me to loose my leg, I've got to take precautions."

Evan sat back as the doctor sorted himself out, pulling out bandages and spreading his leg out as straight as he could. Carson met his glance before direction him. "Major, ye need to pull the leg back and hopefully it will snap back into place. Once it is more-or-less in the right spot, ye'll need to bind the sticks ye found to either side of the leg. I'm going ta have to lean on ye to walk, lad. I won't be able to move fast."

Evan was impressed with Carson's strength. As he pulled on the leg, he could only imagine the amount of pain the doctor was in, however the doctor barely let out a squeak. Binding the leg did not look any less painful as the doctor laid his head back against the side of the ravine, breathing deeply.

"Okay, doc," Evan said cleaning up the medical supplies. "I can only give you a minute and than we need to start moving. Is there any other medicine that I can give you?"

"No, lad, not without putting me to sleep," Carson said weakly as he tried to sit back up.

The sound of footsteps crashing through the woods made both Carson and Evan sit up quickly. Grabbing the Life Signs Detector, Evan scanned the woods. "Break is over, doc. We have to move now!"

TBC  
_Feedback is appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Over the River and Through the Woods  
**__Part II_

Lorne wrapped Carson's arm around his shoulder and lifted the doctor to his feet. Carson wobbled on his right leg; his broken left leg lifted just enough to not scrape the ground. Lorne hoisted the doctor's bag onto his shoulder and snatched his gun from the ground before placing his other hand firmly around the doctor's waist and pulling him down stream.

"The gate is that way," Carson said pointing with his free hand to their left while bouncing on his good foot.

"I know that, doc," Evan answered dragging the Scotsman further down stream. "But the wraith are just south of us. We need to get moving as far down stream as possible, then we can cut back across and head for the gate. The stream will also help cover our tracks a little. We've got to move here, Carson. We're running out of time."

Carson gritted his teeth and smothered a yelp of pain as his left heel banged on a rock under the water. The trip down stream became a blur to Carson as he focused on trying to keep his arm wrapped around the major's shoulders and to not scream every time his leg banged against something.

Finally Evan stopped to check the life signs detector, leaning Carson up against the bank of the ravine. Carson breathed heavily, sweat dripping down his forehead, as he tried to catch his breath. He could feel the water wicking up his legs and soaking his pants to the knees. Turning a doctor's eye on his left leg, he could see that that the leg was swelling fast and even through the wet pants he could see the bruises developing.

Evan swore softly under his breath. "They're gaining on us, we haven't fooled them at all. We're going to have to consider making a stand," Evan said looking nervously over his shoulder.

"Of course they're gaining on us, we're not exactly moving at top speed," Carson said between gasps for air. "Let's find a hiding place and than ye can leave me…" Carson raised his hand to stop the major as he opened his mouth to contradict. "I know what ye're going to say, but if I'm hiding, you can lead them off and head back to the gate for help!"

"I am not leaving you behind!" Evan growled at the doctor. "That is out of the question. We'll find that hiding place and make a stand." The major swung the bag and his gun up to the top of the ravine and began to pull himself up. "We are in this together, doc. Don't be a martyr."

Carson swung around to glare at the American pilot. "How dare ye…I am not being a martyr!" Carson's voice shook with barely contained anger, coming out as a harsh whisper. "I am not going to make it to the gate – ye know this – I know this – this is the only chance there is that one of us will make it home!"

Evan looked shocked at the angry words. He had stopped mid-climb to face the angry Scotsman. The two stood eyes locked before the major broke contact and turned away. "I'm sorry, doctor," Evan said softly. "I'm not belittling you. It's just that even if – by some miracle – I made it through the gate I wouldn't be able to live with myself. This is not negotiable: it is both or neither."

Carson sighed deeply, glancing up at the quickly darkening sky. "I know, lad. I'm sorry too," Carson's voice was now a gentle whisper. Turning back to the major, he gave him a shy smile. "Like Butch and Sundance, we'll make a last stand."

"Okay – Sundance," Evan answered smiling back. "We've got to keep moving."

Evan finished climbing to the top of the ravine and reached down to pull the Scotsman up. Grunting with pain, Carson fought a wave of dizziness as he lowered his head to floor of the forest. Evan hovered over him with concern, whispering softly and rubbing soothing circles on the other man's back. "It's okay, Carson. I'm so sorry, but we need to keep moving. Is there anything else from your bag that I can give you?"

"No, lad," Carson struggled to sit up again. "I'm ready to go now, just help me up." Carson placed one hand on the ground next to him and began to shift himself up onto his one good knee. Evan gripped him under his arms and lifted him the rest of the way up. Carson swayed dangerously before the major draped the doctor's arm over his shoulder steadied him with a firm hand.

"Thanks, Butch!" Carson gasped in a breathless pained voice despite the smile on his face.

∞SGA∞

They had moved as quickly as possible through the trees. Evan scanned the woods constantly for some place that might offer a tactical advantage to the two Atlanteans. Carson had become a dead weight leaning heavily on him Evan was sure that the doctor was actually unconscious as he was dragged through the woods.

Evan was beginning to panic. The wraith were gaining fast on them, and practically carrying the injured doctor was slowing him down. He frantically scanned the surrounding landscape. Turning to the north he could see a small cave not more than 50 feet away but the rough terrain was bound to make it a difficult trek.

Evan wrapped his hand tighter around Carson's waist and pulled him up straighter as he began moving towards the cave. "Okay, doc, I think I found our best bet! Just a little bit further – Carson are you still with me?"

"I'm still here, lad…" Carson's voice was labored and breathless as he lifted his head just slightly to look in the direction Evan was heading. For the first time in the last ten minutes he began to lift his one good foot, little hops that helped take the pressure off the major.

Evan tried not to be too happy about the change in the doctor; he knew it was only temporary. He could tell Carson was in a lot of pain and regretted having to put him through this. _Actually, I regret even asking him to come on this trip. Why did we need a doctor to see if there were survivors anyway? I could have just looked around and then called for a doctor if needed, I might still be in this predicament but I wouldn't be dragging Carson with me. Damn it, how do I get into these messes?_ Evan focused on the last twenty feet.

Evan stepped forward the same way he had previously but with different results. The ground dropped out from beneath him as his foot touched the leaves and sticks in front of him. Evan let out a strangled cry as he found himself falling. Not really wanting to pull Carson down with him, Evan released his hold on him. However he knew the doctor would not be able to stand without help and the doctor fell with him.

They weren't just falling to the ground but dropping down into a large hole. Evan made a conscious decision to turn and pull the doctor towards him to cushion his fall. Evan landed hard and with a loud crack as his head struck the ground and he blacked out.

∞SGA∞

"Okay, doc, I think I found our best bet! Just a little bit further – Carson are you still with me?"

Evan's words cut through the fog and brought Carson back. "I'm still here, lad…" Carson felt like every word was ripped out of him painfully. He lifted his head in the direction they were moving and could just barely make out what looked like a cave. _It is so faraway. I'm not sure I can make it. _Feeling the major tighten his grip Carson knew that he needed to help Evan rather than make it harder for him. _Okay, major, one last push, it might be all the strength I have left – after that I'm done!_ Carson began to hop along with the major, even though every tiny jump sent lightning bolts of pain through his other leg.

Carson lost track of the minutes as the cave drew closer. He concentrated on moving, one hop forward at a time. He focused on the cave counting off the distance as they went. As the major's foot set down, Carson immediately knew something was wrong. Evan pitched forward and down at the same time, releasing his grip on Carson's waist and almost pushing him away. _What the hell? Does he really think that I'm not just going to fall with him? _Carson could not stop himself from following the major down into the hole.

Feeling the major's hands on his waist again, pulling him towards him, Carson tried to catch his breath. As if in slow motion, Carson felt himself turned so that the major was beneath him, shielding Carson from the ground below. Carson watched as the bottom rushed up to meet them. He was horrified by the sickening crack as Evan hit the ground with Carson landing on top of him half a second later. What little breath he had rushed out of Carson's lungs the second they hit the ground and Carson struggled to stay conscious.

Finally catching his breath, Carson scrambled up to the major's head and was horrified by the amount of blood that pooled there. The doctor in him quickly assessed the situation. He knew he should not move him, but he need to check the head wound. He tipped Evan's head just slightly and could see the large gash on the side of the major's head where it had struck a rock.

A sound above him caused Carson to freeze. He could hear the sound of foot steps above them and the sound of hissing angry voices. Fumbling around, Carson found the dropped LSD and activated it. With a sense of dread, Carson could see the wraith drawing closer just meters away. Turning back to the major, Carson gripped him under his arms and pulled him along with him towards the edge of the pit where there was an indent in the wall. Carson ignored the pain in his leg as the adrenaline took over and he dragged them both to the edge. Shoving the major in the small hollow Carson climbed in with him and tried to be as small as possible.

The voices became loud hisses as the wraith reached the edge of the hole. Carson could see rocks and sticks falling into the hole. A bright beam of light hit the bottom of the pit and moved slowly around coming close to lighting up Carson's right foot, which despite everything he was unable to fit into the small space that he and the major were crammed into.

Carson held his breath. When the light disappeared, he resisted the urge to let out a cry of relief. Behind him, he could feel the major beginning to stir and make soft noises as he began to regain consciousness. Carson turned slightly and was able to place his hand gently across the major's mouth to stifle the sound. Evan's eyes fluttered open and Carson could note the clouded dazed look in them. Carson pleaded silently that the major would remain quiet, and as Evan's eyes closed again he breathed a small sigh of relief.

The sounds above them began to fade and Carson risked pulling the LSD out to check the readings. He noted with relief that the wraith were moving swiftly away from them, continuing in the direction that the two Atlanteans had been traveling before. The adrenaline rush Carson had been on before began to wear off and the pain in his leg took over. Carson shifted slightly to get a better look at the major. Seeing the pained look on the major's face, Carson wanted to help but found himself slipping into shock, as his hands began to shake and sweat dripped from his face despite the cold.

As his head dropped slowly to the ground next to Evan's, Carson found his eyes closing as the last of his strength disappeared. "Oh, crap, this is really not good!"

TBC  
_Feedback is appreciated!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Over the River and Through the Woods**_

_Part III_

The sound of groaning woke Carson once again, however this time it wasn't coming from him. Lifting his head gingerly, he tried to figure out the source of the sound. He felt nauseous and dizzy as he struggled to lift himself up. The sharp pain in his left leg brought him back instantly to his current situation. "Major!"

Evan lay next to him groaning softly in pain. Carson pulled himself closer to better examine the major. Lifting the major's head slightly he could see the large gash on his head was still bleeding sluggishly. Scanning around he was surprised to see his medical bag hanging from a root sticking out of the wall on the other side of the pit.

"Well, that's just great," Carson sighed. Giving his leg a quick review, he could tell that a trip back across the pit would be excruciating. Carson felt up to his ear to see if his radio was still there but somewhere along the way he had lost it. As the major groaned again, Carson knew that he had to somehow get his medical bag.

Gritting his teeth Carson began dragging himself towards the other side of the pit. After what seems like hours but was really only minutes, Carson finally pulled himself up the wall to reach for his bag. As the bag came loose he let out a sharp cry of pain as he lost his balance. He forced himself to fall to his right to protect the broken leg from being jostled further.

He bit his lip against the pain as he attempted to calm his racing nerves. As his breathing evened out, Carson dug into his bag to locate a local anesthetic and injected himself in the leg. Carson leaned back and gave himself a few minutes to even out his breathing and for the pain to numb.

Taking another deep breath Carson crawled back to the injured pilot. The major continued to stir as if close to waking, and by the time Carson made it back his blue eyes were cracked open. He raised a weak, uncoordinated hand towards Carson before closing his eyes again with a groan.

Carson gently patted Evan's hand. "Major, are ye with me?" He asked softly.

"Doc? Wha' happ'd?" Evan's words were broken and disjointed as he lifted his eye lids once more.

"We took a little tumble, major," Carson said in his best soothing doctor voice. "But everything will be fine; I just need you to help me." Carson ran his fingers gently under the major's head, checking the bleeding had all but stopped. Carson had feared that Evan had cracked his skull, but the doctor's careful examination gave him confidence that that injury looked worse than it was.

"Doc?" Lorne looked back at Carson with glassy eyes. "Wha' happ'd?"

"Ye're going to be alright, Evan." Carson shook his head and smiled reassuringly at the American pilot. "What day is it, major?" Carson asked casually.

Evan groaned in frustration. "I don' kno', doc? Frid'y?"

"Close, it's…well, actually I don't know what day it is either," Carson said with a small laugh. _I never know what day it is anymore, I'm lucky if I know what time it is!_ Carson turned back to the major. He flashed a pen light in the pilot's eyes. "Where are we, major?"

"I don' wanna play twent' question'," Evan said with a slight pout while he batted at the pen light. "Why don' you jus' tell me wher' we are?"

"Because, major, I need to assess your concussion," Carson tried not to smile at his difficult patient, gently pushing the major's hands back his side. He held up three fingers in front of the Evan's face. "How many fingers do I have up?"

Evan's eyes widened for a second as he focused on Carson's hand. "I don' kno', stop movin' them. T'ree?"

"I'm asking the questions, lad, not ye," Carson said, rolling Evan gently over as he ran his hand over his back. "Does this hurt?"

"Tha' tickl's," Evan answered with a giggle as he tried to sit up. "Whoa, everythin' spinin'. Hey, doc, wha' happ'd?"

Carson rubbed Evan's back gently as he leaned forward and gasped for air. "It's okay, major, we fell while we were running from the wraith."

"Wrai'?" Evan lifted his head and began trying to stand up. "We' gotta' go, doc."

Carson struggled to hold Evan down. "No, no, no, lad. Don't try and stand. The wraith are gone now – they didn't find us. We both just need to rest for a few and than we can get moving again. Please, sit back down, major."

Evan sank back onto the floor and leaned up against the wall. He rubbed tiredly at his temples before looking up to meet Carson's watchful eye. "How long have we been her'?" he asked in a slightly more steady voice.

"I have no idea, lad," Carson answered seriously as he turned to look up at the sky above through the hole. "The stars are out now so at least a few hours. It was almost dark when we fell. Any idea how long it would be until Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard missed us?"

"We weren' expected back for four hour', that time should have elapsed," Evan's eyes followed the doctor's skyward. "Did you try your radio?"

"I've lost mine somewhere along the way," Carson shifted around to sit next to Evan. "And ye don't seem to have yers either."

"I wonder if the others made it back to the gate," Evan asked sadly.

Carson closed his eyes and rested his head back against the dirt wall. "I don't know, major, but I hope so."

∞SGA∞

Carson wasn't really sure how long the nights were on this planet, but according to his watch they had sat in the dark for another four hours and both he and the major were going crazy. "Would ye please stop fidgeting, major, we both need to rest!" Carson snapped as Evan squirmed restlessly again.

"They should be here by now," Evan growled back as he checked to life signs detector for the tenth time in the last five minutes. "What could be keeping them?"

"I don't know any better than ye," Carson said through gritted teeth. "But until it is light again, this exercise in the 'what if' is useless. We can't even see the other side of the pit any longer. We both need the rest and when the sun comes up will try and see if there is away out of this hole."

The two men sat in silence. Carson closed his eyes once more and tried to fall asleep. The pain in his leg had resumed with a vengeance as the anesthetic began to wear off. _At least I can still feel me toes!_ Carson thought as he wiggled them in his boot. The pain that shot through his leg was welcome as it assured him that he would not loose his leg.

Evan sighed heavily in the dark but resisted the urge to shift again. "Well, doc, are you going to volunteer for the next off world mission?"

Carson laughed before answering, "I'm not sure why ye and the colonel always want to drag me long. It seems that trouble follows me."

"Yeah, I guess it's just the challenge: whether or not we can make it back to Atlantis and how many injuries we can accumulate while you're along," Lorne relied lightly. "I always enjoy the panic that hits just before we reach the gate!"

"Funny, lad," Carson tried to sound cross but could not suppress a laugh. "Seriously, why do ye all insist on me going?"

Evan was silent for a few seconds as he thought of the right words. "I guess we all just like you and don't want you cooped up in the infirmary. Besides, of all the geeks, you're the coolest – except for maybe Dr. Z, and I know the colonel would probably bring up McKay, but there is only so much of that whining I can take and he used up that quota the first day I was here."

Carson was barely able to make out the major's face in the dark but when he caught sight of the humor on Evan's face he found himself laughing along with him. The two men sat back in a comfortable silence and waited for the sun to rise. Sometime during the night both men drifted off to sleep.

∞SGA∞

"Wake up, doc! The sun is up, rise and shine!"

Carson groaned and tried to turn away from the overly cheerful morning voice. As he tipped to his left a fire shot through his leg and brought him instantly awake with a cry of pain. Gasping for air he tried to steady his breathing as the fire lessened and turned into a very painful ache.

"Doc, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Evan asked as he leaned over and placed a hand on the doctor's back as he fought back the nausea.

Carson moaned softly before sitting up and giving the major a small smile. "I'll be fine, lad, just give me a second."

"Take what time you need; I'm gonna look around," Evan pulled himself up but immediately double over as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Slowly he straightened out, keeping one hand firmly on the wall of the pit.

"What about ye, lad? Will ye be alright?" Carson asked from his place on the ground. He watched the major with concern. His doctor instincts told him the pilot should not be up and moving and certainly not doing anything physical. "Breath deeply, major. Don't rush anything. I've got some pain medication here for you to take, but only if ye promise me to not push yerself too hard."

"I can't promise you that, doc," Lorne answered giving the doctor an apologetic smile. "We need to get out of this hole and see what is going on out there. And you're not going to be able to help much either."

Carson knew he was right and held out the pain medicine anyway. "We are a sorry lot, aren't we?"

"Yeah, Sundance, I'll look around while you supervise!" Evan accepted the pills with a smile and then dry swallowed them. Slowly he pushed off the wall and began to make his way across the pit. As he got to the other side he could see roots hanging out of the wall like hand holds made for him to clime out. The top of the hole was only about twelve feet high, and Evan began to formulate a plan.

"Okay, doc, I've got an idea," Evan slowly made his way back Carson's side and lifted him up. Evan grabbed the doctor's bag and helped the doctor limp to the other side of the pit. Setting the doctor gently on the ground he turned back to the wall of the pit. "I can use these roots like rungs of a ladder and pull myself up. When I get to the top, I'll see what I can use to get you out as well."

"Major, take it easy. Ye still have a concussion, and it would be devastating for you to re-injure yerself," Carson voiced his concern. "Don't ye think the colonel will find us soon? We've been gone for half a day at least."

"We went really far out of the way, Carson," Evan shook his head as he began pulling on a few of the lower roots, testing them for strength. "If they are looking for us, they're going to have a lot of ground to cover."

Carson watched with concern as the major began to pull himself up one hanging root at a time. He gasped and closed his eyes each time Evan almost fell, but then would breath a sigh of relief as he caught himself. Carson found himself holding his breath as Evan reached the top and crawled onto the ground above.

TBC  
_Feedback is appreciated!_

_A/N: Special thanks to Susan the Tartan Turtle for the kick in the pants!_


End file.
